Sheep fattening

Choosing the right technology for fattening and fattening sheep is the key to a successful result with minimal time and feed. By organizing the nutrition and maintenance of animals in accordance with their needs, choosing the breed and feed that suits your purposes, carefully monitoring weight gain and slaughtering in a timely manner, you can get a tender, juicy, inexpensive product.

Sheep feeding

The choice of breed for fattening

When choosing a breed of animals for fattening, give preference to meat options. They have a high rate of weight gain and a higher slaughter yield. They also differ in the taste characteristics of meat.

Meat sheep and rams are famous for fat, which accumulates in youth in the fat tail, and later under the skin.

Among the breeds bred and popular in Russia are Georgian, North Caucasian meat-and-wool, from which wool is also obtained, Gorky. To improve domestic meat on the farm, it is reasonable to introduce breeds created by British breeders – Hampshire, Shropshire and others.

More meat than purebreds is given by hybrid animals, the crossbreeds of which are obtained directly on the farm.

Features of fattening animals of different ages

Young individuals are prone to building muscle mass during fattening, adults give more sebaceous layer. The peculiarities of keeping sheep of different ages depend on this.

With intensive fattening from young sheep, you will get excellent meat in just one summer. For these purposes, animals born in winter are used. Even while feeding with mother’s milk, they are intensively fed. Weaned from the uterus at 3-5 months.

Sheep are fattened in the stall with fresh grass and hay. 600-700 grams of concentrates make food more nutritious and increase the intensity of weight gain. Add 100-150 grams of protein per kilogram of feed to the feed and get low-fat, protein-rich lamb. When using this technology, already at 5-6 months of age, young animals weigh 40-45 kilograms.

Moderate fattening technologies are used to raise animals with mature meat and little greasy layers. Having been weaned from the uterus at 4 months, the lambs born in early March are transferred to the pasture in April, adding concentrates to the diet. By autumn, the weight will reach 50-58 kg.

Fresh grass

Fresh grass

In order to obtain lamb fat and fatty meat, adult sheep and rams are fattened. For this type, ewes are chosen, from which offspring are no longer expected, and valukhs. Combined feed and herbs are used, from rough they give:

  • straw from cereals;
  • hay peas, beans, soybeans;
  • silage.

Females have more tender meat, while rams, with less feed consumption, give a greater weight gain.

It is more profitable to fatten lambs up to 10 months. With an equal weight gain of 130-150 grams, young animals consume 6-7 feed units, and adults – 10-12.

Conditions of detention

Sheep are grazing animals, when fattening only in a stall they can

  • bad weight gain
  • get sick;
  • get nervous.

In summer, grazing can be combined with fattening in a stall and a fence, in winter it can be fed alternately, either in a stall or outdoors in a fence.

The benefit of keeping animals is that, due to their thick wool, they do without warm rooms. In winter, the acceptable temperature in the stall is 3-5оC. When keeping sheep, it is necessary to monitor the dryness in the premises. In one – no more than 120 – 250 heads, depending on the floor covering. Each animal should have from 3 to 8 square meters. m.

Food hygiene is important. Feeders require regular cleaning. Sheep refuse stale feed. Feeding is done 4-5 times a day, if feeding is not practiced. Be careful when adding new foods to your diet. This is done gradually. If you immediately give unusual food, animals suffer from intestinal disorders and quickly lose weight.

Sheepdog

Sheepdog

To achieve good results when fattening, you need to monitor the sufficient amount of drinking water. When using dry food – 1,5 – 2,5 liters per day and much more in the heat.

Finishing in the stall and on the pasture

Fattening sheep without fattening gives poor results. For fattening, animals are collected in flocks:

  • ewes, without lambs;
  • castrated individuals;
  • young growth that appeared this year.

The size of the flock depends on the pasture area and the number of sheep on the farm, from 200 to 900 heads. The pasture is chosen taking into account the daily requirement of an adult sheep – 1,8 kg. per day, young animals up to 6 kg.

Grazing at the end of summer is efficient, using already harvested fields of wheat and rye. During this period, the herd can be fed with tops after harvesting root crops.

Pastures are selected in dry areas with dense soft grass, in which there are no thorns and burrs that can clog into the animal’s hair.

Sheep fattening in a stall is practiced on farms where there is little pasture land or in winter. Young animals weighing more than 18 kg are ready for fattening. Fattening can be considered complete if the lamb has reached a weight of 32-42 kg. You can leave a young animal for fattening up to 50-55 kg.

Selection and preparation of feed

The intensity of feeding reduces the cost of production. The rate of weight gain directly depends on this indicator. For an average daily weight gain of sheep of 120-140 grams per day, 7-8 feed units per kilogram of weight gain are spent, if the gain rate is 220-250 grams per day, then only 4-5 feed units will be required for each kilogram of weight gain. At the same time, the general maturation of the animal is accelerated and during the summer period you can get ready for slaughter weighing 45-50 kg.

Sheep feeding

Sheep feeding

For fattening sheep use:

  • succulent feed;
  • compound feed;
  • rough;
  • concentrated;
  • silage.

A good weight gain can be obtained if the amount of silage in the diet does not exceed 2 – 2,5 kg. The rest is succulent feed and hay.

Bagasse from related production is used to feed sheep no more than 1,4 kg. per day for one person. It is good to combine pulp nutrition with concentrated feed. In combination with bean hay, bagasse is given to eat plenty. With such nutrition, one lamb eats up to 5-8 kg. per day.

In autumn fattening, beet tops give good results as an additive to grain and hay. Waste from elevators and mills is suitable food for sheep. They can be used in combination with or without hay, as the leftovers contain a fair amount of chopped straw or chaff.

When fattening sheep, it is important to give salt in the amount that the animals themselves determine according to their needs. Therefore, access to salt must be open at all times.

Grain feed is an integral part of the oat diet. It is given flattened or in the form of a tear. Animals eat small grains reluctantly, it clogs their nostrils and creates a viscous mass in their mouths.

Vegetables play an important role in the nutrition of sheep. They are cut and mixed with hay or straw, preferably legumes and cereals. Make sure there are no thorns in the food. The feather grass is stuffed into wool, penetrates through the fleece and digs into the body. The animal cannot bend over for food, in pain, stops eating and dies. Lose user characteristics wool and meat. After slaughter, they have to be sent to the scrap.

The correct approach to the maintenance and fattening of sheep will allow you to get meat with high taste characteristics and low cost in the shortest possible time. Increase the intensity of fattening due to the competent combination of roughage and succulent feed, compound feed, concentrates. Monitor the level of weight gain and eliminate harmful factors.

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Anna Evans

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